Extracting A Badly Broken Tooth

Dealing with a tooth broken at the gum line at our Burton dental practice.

When a dental problem occurs, our first choice, at Mike Allen’s Dental Practice, is to do all that we can to save the natural tooth. In many cases, this may be a simple filling. For more extensive damage, such as a broken tooth, more intensive dental work may be needed.

In the case of a badly broken tooth, where a filling is no longer an option, a crown may be fitted. This may be fitted directly, or following a root canal procedure, should the root part of the tooth be infected. A crown is less viable when the tooth is so badly broken that most of the natural tooth above the gum line has gone.

Nervous patients

Whilst many of our patients will have had a tooth removed before; when it comes to one so badly broken as above, anxiety levels seem to rise, due to the belief that this type of damage makes the procedure both longer and much more difficult. This is probably understandable as there is often a wide held belief that extracting a tooth involves the gripping of a tooth by modern pliers and pulling it from the bone. In fact, this is not what happens at all, and the only part of the procedure where this does occur is the final bit when the tooth has been sufficiently loosened from the bone.

To extract any tooth, the first stage is to loosen it from the bone in the jaw that holds it in place. Generally this is done by exerting gentle pressure on it and wiggling the tooth until the bone loosens and it can simply be pulled out.

‘Difficult’ teeth

Where a tooth has broken off on or below the gum line, a similar process takes place by using specialist dental tools to ease the remaining tooth away from the bone. In some instances, it may be necessary to ‘section’ the tooth and remove it in smaller pieces. Although this may seem to be a frightening prospect for some, the reality is that a local anaesthetic will be given and you should feel little discomfort, other than a little pressure being applied. In some cases too, removal of a tooth broken at the gum line is a faster process than removing a more complete tooth.

There can be a temptation to leave a badly broken tooth if it is causing few problems when eating etc. The reality though is that the tooth will decay and may cause painful inflammation in the roots. Gum disease is also more likely in the surrounding area due to the difficulty of keeping this area clean through brushing and flossing. Your Burton family dentist will take good care of you when extracting a tooth and will be happy to explain the procedure if it helps to allay your concerns.

If you have a broken tooth, our advice is not to ignore it in the hope that it will be ok, but to have it checked at Mike Allen’s Dental Practice and treated as necessary. To arrange an appointment, please call us on 01283 845345.